She’d never mentioned being acquainted with the King of the Vampires, and she would have hinted something over the years if they were in communication. This was probably her way of buying me time so I could calm myself before confronting Valentine.
I walked around the counter, tamping down my suspicions. Valentine must have found me through one of the many enforcers who monitored the Natural World for illegal supernatural activity. They weren’t friends or acquaintances or anything else.
Istabelle was over a century old, and Valentine had ruled the vampires for five hundred years. Of course, she’d recognize him. Valentine was a member of the Supernatural Council and one of the seven most powerful magical beings who ruled Logris.
He was also very hard to forget.
Istabelle guided him to the front of the store, where she kept the most beautiful crystals set into precious metals to form jewelry. I tore my gaze away from them and focused on the box of quartz clusters still lying on the counter.
Sweat dampened my hands and beaded on my brow. My every instinct screamed at me to bolt through the door, jump on the back of a red double-decker, and disappear, but it wouldn’t work.
Running would only trigger Valentine’s hunting instincts, then I’d be trapped. Trapped in those strong, muscular arms, trapped in that mesmerizing gaze, trapped into doing whatever he desired.
I slipped my trembling fingers into the magic-proof gloves, put on my goggles, and opened up the box.
Instead of being the serene representatives of purity, the quartz clusters seemed too angular, too sharp, too kaleidoscopic.
Staring at them too long could pull me into meditation or an unwanted memory. Touching them—even with gloves—amplified the pain and resentment and humiliation that still lingered in my soul from how things ended with Valentine. I closed the flaps and eavesdropped on their murmured conversation.
Istabelle held a huge block of gray moonstone, a crystal we sometimes recommended for those with lingering grief.
I swallowed hard, hoping she was just talking about crystals in general and not reporting my progress to him in code.
With the cold, cruel words he had hurled at me across the steps of his palace, Valentine made it abundantly clear that he wanted me out of Logris and out of his life. Why would he follow up on me?
They moved on to the selection of herbs next, and Istabelle chatted to him about her selection of herbal teas. By now, the pounding of my heart had faded to a dull ache, and my insides burned with curiosity.
Valentine glanced at me over his broad shoulder, making my pulse quicken. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile, and my veins filled with angry, prickly heat.
He’d heard my heart with his enhanced vampire ears and probably thought I was excited. Hadn’t it occurred to him that pulses also rose due to fight or flight?
“Thank you, Mrs. Bonham-Sackville.” Valentine took Istabelle’s hand and brought it to his lips.
Istabelle lowered her lashes, and a faint blush darkened her pale features. I couldn’t blame the woman.
Valentine had an advantage over even the most beautiful of vampires. His power and charm and title were enough to stir anyone to passion, but all he stirred in me was fury.
“Would you like to see our book corner?” she asked.
“Perhaps later,” he said with a smile that had her swaying on her feet.
“Then I will take my leave.” Istabelle retreated to the far end of the shop, placing a trembling hand on her flushed cheek.
Valentine inclined his head and turned to me with an arrogant smirk. “You seem distracted. I thought you would have finished unpacking your delivery by now.”
“It’s hard to concentrate with an unholy presence in the shop,” I snapped. “What do you want?”
His brows rose. “Is that any way to speak to a customer?”
“Don’t tell me you traveled all the way from Logris to buy a crystal.”
“Perhaps not.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
Valentine swept his arm toward the exit, where a limousine awaited on the curb. “We need to talk.”
I turned to the box of quartz clusters, pulled back the flap, and pulled one out onto the counter. With the adrenaline searing through my veins, the stone had zero effect.
For the next few minutes, I busied myself unpacking and dusting off the clusters. Perhaps if I ignored Valentine, he’d slink out of the shop and back to where he came from.
“Mera.” His chastising voice cut through my attempt at distraction. Even though he’d uttered just one word, he’d left the rest unsaid. Valentine would not be ignored.
“What do you want to talk about?” I snapped.
“Come with me, and I’ll explain everything.”
I brushed stray bits of cardboard off my protective white coat. “I’m not in the habit of going places with strange vampires.”
A growl reverberated across the shop, sending the fine hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention. My heart revved like a motorcycle and a thrill of terror mingled with fury and excitement. Who did this man think he was?
I bared my teeth and hissed. “Don’t think that snarling like an animal will get me to obey your every command. In the human world, we use our words.”
His features evened out into the annoying expression of calm he often used with servants who had made a mistake. “Then perhaps a considerate apprentice could consider the impact our conflict is having on your master.”
My gaze flicked to Istabelle, who leaned against a crystal display, clutching her chest.
All the color had leached from her face, and her features fell slack. Her fear was proof enough that she hadn’t been in contact with Valentine and didn’t know that he kept a tight rein over his temper.
I turned back to Valentine, my eyes narrowing. “Perhaps a considerate member of the Supernatural Council could consider the impact his animalistic urges are having on others?”
His eyes narrowed. “Mera—”
“Get out.” I pointed to the door.
Impatience flickered across his features. As he bared his teeth, the tips of his incisors lengthened.
“I will not ask you again,” he said in a do-as-His-Majesty-says-or-else snarl.
My pulse quickened. This was the voice he used before flicking his wrist and sending someone flying across the room. Valentine wouldn’t hurt two defenseless women—at least not physically—but I couldn’t let pride and stubbornness result in the old lady falling into a faint.
Pulling back my shoulders, I made a disdainful noise in the back of my throat, acting like vampire kings came to the crystal shop to harass me all the time.
“Very well. If stepping outside will make you leave, I suppose I’ll have to oblige.” I walked around the counter and across the shop floor toward Valentine, who offered me a tight smile.
He strode ahead of me and held the door open. The man guarding the shop lumbered aside to let us out, and I stepped out into the cool morning.
A driver in a black uniform stood by the limousine and gave Valentine a low bow.
I pressed my lips into a thin line and scowled. Scoundrels who treated people like shit didn’t deserve respect.
A black cab drove past, its diesel engine clicking and coughing out smoke. On the other side of the road, a Royal Mail van paused outside the little Tesco Metro supermarket.